Prediction Markets: What They Are and How They Differ From Sports Betting
Live betting is getting more and more popular by the minute in the United States and operators are keeping up. Millions of bettors around the country have the utmost confidence in other top-tier sportsbooks too, including BetMGM or Caesars. Right now, FanDuel takes the cake for its sleek design, generous promotions, and the consistency of its product. The platform offers an enormous selection of betting markets, creative promotions, and some of the best parlay and futures options in the industry. Betting on elections is strictly prohibited across the U.S., even though it’s best offshore sportsbooks allowed in countries like Canada and the U.K.
Any contract listed on a prediction market has to be certified by the CFTC first. Entrepreneurs like the founders of Kalshi and Polymarket recognized that any event, including sports, could be bought and sold in the same way and regulated by the CFTC. Unlike state-regulated sports-betting services, prediction markets are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a federal agency that oversees futures contracts.
It is also a key factor when it comes to Choosing the sportsbook provider, as different providers offer varying levels of flexibility, market coverage, and control. For operators looking to start a sportsbook business, understanding betting markets goes beyond basic definitions. Yet it is often misunderstood or reduced to simply a list of available bets. Focusing on prices instead of outcomes helps bettors make smarter decisions over the long run. The sportsbook simply sets the odds and takes a small cut through the vig.
Some betting sites may ask you to provide a utility bill as proof of your address, which is worth noting. You will also have to provide a piece of government-issued ID (ex. driver’s license) to verify your identity. You’ll need to provide some personal details, such as your full name, home address, and email address, when prompted to complete this step. Now it’s time to create accounts with your chosen U.S. sports betting sites. We’ve put together a detailed list of tips to help you choose the best sportsbook out there. For new players in non-legal states, the Kalshi promo code and Polymarket promo code are good starting points.
In short, the ability to reach more customers and thus make more money is why companies are making this push. With optimism that prediction markets will remain federally legal in their current form, plenty of companies are joining the space. BetMGM and Caesars, notable sportsbooks that are also under parent companies with massive brick-and-mortar casino businesses, have not yet entered prediction markets. Because the companies running the prediction markets don’t care who wins, the companies aren’t exposed to the risk of users beating them to news and information. FanDuel Predicts is expected to expand to other states in 2026, but did say in a press release that “As new states legalize online sports betting, FanDuel will cease offering sports event contracts in those states.”
Betting on such serious matters is morally wrong, but people do engage with these markets. It may take you a while to understand how prediction markets work. The risks of running into financial issues are very real when using these sites.
When oddsmakers create odds, they do so in a way that hopefully feels fair to bettors, and encourages players to wager on both sides of the potential outcome. In this case, the gathering of people tends to be online, for the purchase and sale of odds to win. Similar to the stock market, the betting market is simply a “gathering of people for the purchase and sale of goods”. In this way, sports betting markets can be thought of as the marketplace for odds.
The Asia Pacific region accounted for around 30.0% of revenue and is expected to maintain the high CAGR in the sports betting market. Further, the basketball and baseball segments of the sports betting market are also expected to expand by close to 10%. Following football, the horse racing segment accounted for the second-largest sports betting market share and is expected to thrive at a CAGR of 10.3% during the forecast period. Also, Football accounted for more than 20.2% of the sports betting market share in 2025 and is expected to grow in the future positively affecting the sports betting market adoption trends.